Obesity … Are Genetics to Blame??

It seems that many times people blame their genes for their state of their body, particularly when carrying extra body fat.

Many of my clients have said, “This is how’s always been… Obesity runs in my family.”

The truth of the matter is that genes are only a piece of the puzzle. Yes, you do have a defined genetic makeup. However, genetic factors offer only a minimal contribution to the risk of an overweight state. Having a family history of obesity or obesity as part of your genetic makeup does not mean that you are destined to express those genes. Your genetic code interacts with your lifestyle, as well as your environment, and it is only expressed when living in unhealthy ways.

The Public Health publication of Harvard highlighted that heredity doesn’t equate to destiny. “Most people probably have some genetic predisposition to obesity, depending on their family history and ethnicity. Moving from genetic predisposition to obesity itself generally requires some change in diet, lifestyle, or other environmental factors.”

There seems to be around a twenty percent risk involved in genetics. Having obesity in the family does not mean that you have to be obese. If genetics offered a direct causal effect, you wouldn’t see identical twins with different shapes. Neither you would see a great increase in obesity rates. The increase we have seen over the past decades since genes remain somewhat stable over several generations.

The dramatic increasing rates in overweight states and obesity can’t be explained by a genetic underpinning. Some of the factors directly involved are sedentary living, excessive caloric intake, and a toxic environment.

It is very important to eliminate that excuse and take total responsibility. Having the ideal body weight and shape is totally in your control. It is necessary to habitually implement an exercise program, have healthy meals, eat the right amount of calories that your body needs, and cleanse your system in order to allow it to function properly. Therefore, make the decision to change and incorporate the right choices!!